Dealing with Sin

Dealing with Sin 

“Let not one of them escape.” 1 Kings 18:40 ESV 

When the prophet Elijah had received the answer to his prayer—that is, when fire from heaven had consumed his sacrifice in the presence of all the people—he called on the assembled Israelites to take the priests of Baal and sternly cried, “Let not one of them escape.” He took all of the pagan priests down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there. We must do the same thing with our sins—they are all doomed, and not one must be allowed to live. Our favorite sin must die—don’t spare it, even if it cries out for mercy. Strike it down, even though it’s as dear to you as Isaac was to Abraham. Strike, for God struck at sin when it was laid on His own Son. With a stern, unflinching purpose, you must condemn and kill the sin that was once the idol of your heart. How are you supposed to accomplish this, you ask? Jesus will be your power. In the covenant of grace, you have been given grace to overcome sin; you have strength to gain victory in the crusade against inner desires because Christ Jesus has promised to be with you to the very end. If you want to triumph over darkness, set yourself in the presence of the Sun of Righteousness. There is no place so well suited to the discovery of sin, or to recovery from its power and guilt, as the immediate presence of God. Job never knew how to kill sin half as well as he did when his eye of faith rested on God—and then he hated himself, repenting in dust and ashes. The fine gold of the Christian is often becoming dim. We need the sacred fire to consume our impurities. Let us run to our God, for He is a consuming fire—He will not consume our spirit, but our sins. Let the goodness of God compel us to sacred jealousy, and to holy revenge against those sins that are so hateful to God. Go forth to battle in God’s strength, and utterly destroy those accursed sins. “Let not one of them escape.” C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

Forgive us our debts. MATTHEW 6:12 

Some people don’t pray as they should because they feel unworthy to come before a pure and holy God. But Jesus taught us to include confession as a part of our prayers: “Forgive us our debts.” When we pray in obedience, we must confess our sins; and when we pray in faith, we must trust God to fully forgive. If you’re having trouble with this, utilize some Bible visuals. Isaiah 1:18 tells us that when God forgives us, we are whiter than snow. Micah 7:19 says He casts our sins into the depths of the sea. Psalm 103:12 says He removes them as far from us as east from west. Isaiah 38:17 says God casts our sins behind His back. In Matthew 18:21–35, Jesus compared our sins to a great debt canceled by a gracious king. Psalm 51 talks about being washed and cleansed, and about God’s hiding His face from our sins and blotting out our transgressions. God provided this assortment of images because we need to visualize the vast, many dimensions of His grace. So when you pray, confess your sins specifically and claim God’s forgiveness. Then go on and pray as one who is righteous in God’s sight through the grace of our Lord Jesus. He doesn’t want you to continue feeling guilty. He wants you to pray. Dr. David Jeremiah Morning and Evening 

The hardest things in my day have nothing to do with the work of my hands nor the words of my mouth. Nothing to do with the world around me, but rather the world within me. 

It's dealing with sin in me.  It's seductive, it sly, it's crafty, it's appearance is that of things most desirable at times to the eye, ear, nose and mouth.  It's a daily, hourly, minute by minute, struggle.  Our sin nature is with us 24/7. Our lives cannot be lived without an awareness of it. We either give in willingly or fight against it. To take up our own cross and follow Christ is a choice with intentionally making ourselves go and do what is contrary to our sin nature. 

When Paul spoke of fighting the good fight, he wasn't only speaking about the altercations that others saw him involved in with the jealousy of his kinsmen. It wasn't the being shipwrecked or the beatings or the being stoned.  It was the battlefield of his mind and his heart. 

My greatest daily battles that wear me out more than physical labor are the mental ones.

My mind isn't like many whom I know that I am envious of.  Those who can recall Scripture quickly when situations occur.  Those who recognize a behavior by the passages they have read. 

It's a hard war in the battlefield of the mind some days.  No amount of coffee or peaceful life can separate you from your sin nature, nor my own.  

Being a nice, good person isn't enough. The enemy of God will use everything about you against you in overt and subtle ways.  He will whisper enough to convince you of things. 

He will entice you by your environment.  He will push your buttons.  

So you see the attacks come from without and within.  Ignorance of the war doesn’t exempt you from it.  Many, during the world wars, tried to be neutral.  One side or the other often would not accept that of people.  They often were made to choose. 

You must choose to fight.  I must choose to fight.  Ephesians 6 is the hallmark chapter in the Bible about our warriors clothes.  Just as Scripture says that we battle not against flesh and blood.  So is our weapons and protection. 

My fights with sin are often not long but they are ugly.  

Those who are reading this who are not saved in Christ Jesus, you cannot fight it and win.  If that were possible then there was no need for Christ Jesus to come to earth and be crucified. 

You cannot, I  cannot, fight the powers of darkness, the sin within, without the power of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. If, my Dear Reader, you do not have that, you are in a fight you will never win. You will be convinced of your own goodness, of the merits of your life, which without Salvation in Christ Jesus, amounts to nothing in the eyes of God. 

Read in Revelation of Jesus separating the people.  He asks no questions, He isn't permitting a defense, He has no need to hear arguments.  He already knows.  In Christ, those who sin can ask Him for forgiveness of sins and He does.  The Bible says He remembers them no more.  Without Christ your sins cling to you as filthy rags. You can stand before Christ all prim and proper on your day of judgment but your stench of your sin will still come from you.

My days go back and forth in the battle. Some days better than others.  I pray often for forgiveness, for strength in this fight.  I have, according to the Bible, help from God in this fight. Rest only comes when He says it's time to come home. 

Sin with have countless millions of disguises. Our enemy prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour.  Without Christ you are easy prey.

Prayer is essential in this battle. Reinforcements are only a prayer away. 

Be aware of the reality of sin in your life.  Be even more aware of whether or not you are saved.  If you are not, you can resolve that and respond to His call to you today. 

No Part-Timer's in Christ

No Part-Timer's in Christ 

For those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 1 Samuel 2:30 

One of the many truths of the kingdom of God is that if we will honor God, He will honor us. If, however, we dare to treat Him disrespectfully, we will also be treated as least in His kingdom. The initiative rests with us. Our response to God determines His response to us. Eli had been the priest of Israel for many years, and he knew the standards for righteous living that God required. Yet Eli faced a dilemma, for his sons were living in direct opposition to God. As their father, Eli had to decide whom he would honor. He could not defer to his immoral and ungodly sons and also exalt the God he served. By default, Eli chose to honor his sons, for he did not insist that their behavior conform to God's standards. Eli would have pleaded that he still loved God but that he simply could not bring honor to God with his family. Yet God viewed Eli's behavior differently (1 Sam. 3:13–14). Eli revealed his own heart when he failed to honor God before the people of Israel by the way he dealt with his sons. This is why God punished Eli and his sons severely (1 Sam. 4:17–18). God is not pleased if you praise Him at church but not at your workplace. It is not acceptable for you to revere God when you are with other Christians but not in your school or neighborhood. He expects you to honor Him completely, with your words, with your actions, with your life. If you honor Him, He will honor you. Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day 

Ii have read through the Bible more times than I can remember.  I can, however, remember about Eli and his sons. While we read of him and them in Samuel's first book, their lives are hardly unique. Every generation from Adam to Noah and from Noah's Sons to today is filled with the same. 

An oft told joke at the workplace to some people is to call them part-timer's because of the time off they earned and took advantage of. In Christ there's no room for that, in fact Jesus addressed that. You come to Christ He wants all of you, not the leftovers. 

Luke 9:57-62 "As they were going on the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In living for Jesus it's never presented as an optional thing. 

It's not when you aren't busy with something else. 

It's not when you feel like it. 

Read the book of Acts...see anything about serving half-heartedly that was accepted?

Read anything about Jesus telling a Disciple about not concerning himself about what will or won't happen to another Disciple, as for him he was to follow Jesus. 

Serving Satan or serving God is what is really happening in this world.  Jesus separated people in Revelation between those who were believers from those who were not.  There absolutely was no middle ground.  No questionable group that would require more time to sort through.  You either were a sealed by the Spirit Child of God or you were not.

There is no sneaking into Heaven by just being good enough. 

You must choose, much as Joshua, who it is you will serve, as have I.

You will give an account someday as to why you lived as you did, as will I. 

Scripture says that all the fullness of Christ fills us when we are saved.  It's how much we obey that determines what He does in our lives.  Many invite Jesus in to be their Savior, yet religate Him to the status of a Butler.  Some religate Him to a room in their hearts, only bringing Him out on Easter and Christmas.  Some, on only Sundays, some not even that. They just wanted salvation to escape Hell.

You and I must choose to live for the One who saved us. Paul's big concern was that he would do everything God called him to lest he find he disappointed Jesus at the end. 

Our world wants nothing to do with Christ, God, the Bible or Christian living.  I have heard comments all my life about how the Christian life is so dry. That its no fun. That you have to give up on enjoying your life if you become a Christian.  The reality is quite the opposite. 

People in many places believe the lie of Satan that there's a party going on in Hell.  Jesus stated clearly what Hell is about. 

Luke 16:19-31 " “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, enjoying himself in splendor every day. And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed from the scraps which fell from the rich man’s table; not only that, the dogs also were coming and licking his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s arms; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he raised his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his arms. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who want to go over from here to you will not be able, nor will any people cross over from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ But Abraham *said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

You are the one who must choose.  

You.

You choose to live for yourself or for Christ.  He who gave His life for you or yourself. 

In Revelation in a letter to a Church, Jesus rebuked them for being lukewarm. Said He would spit them out.  He rejects lukewarm people. Half-hearted people. 

My morning drive includes prayer. Every day I ask for His help in doing whatever He puts before me to do.  I am a Christian cleverly disguised as a Workflow Specialist.  In Colossians 3 we are to do all things as unto the Lord.  Do you?

Examining ourselves is repeated in the New Testament. Do that today to see who you are living for. 

What are You Thinking (of)?

What are You Thinking (of)?

I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8 

What does it mean to set the Lord always before you? It means that you choose to relate everything you encounter to your trust in God. What you choose to focus on becomes the dominant influence in your life. You may be a Christian, but if your focus is always on your problems, your problems will determine the direction of your life. If your focus is on people, then people will determine what you think and do. In biblical times, the right hand was the most distinguished position, reserved for one's chief adviser and supporter. When you choose to focus on Christ, you invite Him to take the most important position in your life as Counselor and Defender. Every time you face a new experience, you should turn to Christ for His interpretation and strength. When people insult you and mistreat you, you should seek direction from your Counselor regarding the right response. When you face a crisis, you should receive strength from the One at your right hand. When you experience need, you should consult your Counselor before you react. When you face a fearful situation, you should take courage from the Advocate at your right hand. Everything you do is in the context of your relationship to Christ. What an incredible act of God's grace that Christ should stand beside you to guide you and counsel you and defend you! How could you ever become dismayed over your situation with Christ at your right hand? What confidence this should give you! Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day 

It is interesting that the business world makes attempts at mimicking God's Word without references to it.  The idea of setting your mind on something as this devotional points to is the same as I have seen and read in many corporate Cardinal Rules on focus.  The notion of being focused is the same regardless of how or who says it.

What you may not know nor understand is Satan may have been the most beautiful of Angels when God created him, but being creative is not a part of his nature.  He only keeps reusing what has worked in the past to try for better results in the future.  

I really do believe there's a far deeper truth to what's repeated the most often in Ecclesiastes. "There's nothing new under the sun."

We may think innovation is the future, but it's really the past, repeated. 

Our minds, for the last 5-6 thousand years have degraded due to the radiation from the sun. Prior to the Genesis Flood, mankind had 100% use of their brains.  What they wanted to create they could do with very little effort.  Proof has been left by God through fossils and what was thought to be geode.  Finding technology we cannot explain nor duplicate. 

I personally believe that Noah and his family did not NEED 100 plus years to build the Ark. I believe they intentionally built it without power tools. Thus yet again fulfilling as yet unwritten Scripture that God is unwilling that any should perish but that all would have eternal life. 

The Father's business is to seek and save the lost. It's our living lives that show Jesus to a lost world.  It is dependent upon our focus on a life dedicated to the One who saved us.  

We do so much these days we don't realize we are putting God on our schedule, not the other way around. 

We gorge on data at work, at home, spending money trying to get away from everything. 

Satan knows the value of overload. Knows that most just don't know when to quit. 

Knows that the frog in the frying pan is pretty much everyone. Start when they are young to slowly turn up the heat. They just won't jump out.

I was disturbed by even some of the attributes a company posted that they were looking for in leadership. To be a zealot for the company. To be an evangelist for the company. Focused on promoting the company. 

All things that take the person's attention away from everything else. From family and most importantly from God. 

Satan's loves it when we easily convince ourselves to do, say, or think things that God says we ought not. His work is done when we do it to ourselves.  No need to assign a demon to anyone who is already obeying him. 

Joshua stood up and proclaimed who his allegiance was to.  As for him and his family they would serve the Lord.  Are the pleasures of this life, the desires of your heart, the thoughts you consider, do they point to a life that's really apart from God?

This last year has made it difficult to be in a physical Church setting.  I personally believe that was one of the real intentions behind it. The Church stands for what God has said and the world wants to relish sin. Wants to celebrate sin. Wants to encourage and enjoy sin.  

Satan will continue to try to influence your thoughts. He cannot possess a believer. But he can assign a demon to keep whispering in your ears.  Every believer is already filled with the Spirit of God. There's just our allowing the Spirit to work in us that's the condition. Nobody goes to a service or meeting to get filled with the Spirit other than to be saved.  Obedience to the Word of God allows more of the Spirit to work in us, to make us more like Christ and less like us.

You must choose to focus on Christ and not on your circumstances. 

You must choose obedience to Christ and not the ways of the world. 

You must choose to think on the Word of God and to pray, giving the Spirit more and more of you. 

Not Forgotten

Not Forgotten 

Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Isaiah 49:15 

God never becomes preoccupied or neglectful toward one of His children. God said it would be more likely for a nursing mother to forget the infant at her breast than for Him to forget one of His children! The nursing mother has a keen sensitivity to her baby. Even if the infant is in another room the mother's senses are in tune with her child. The mother knows when it is time to feed and care for the child. The mother never becomes so preoccupied with other things that she neglects the needs of her child. It is fitting that God chose this imagery to describe how He looks after His people, for He is more sensitive to the needs of His children than even the most loving mother. He anticipates every cry for help. Even before we can call out in need, God is responding with His answer (Isa. 65:24). This is one of the most comforting promises God has given to us: that He will never forget us. Don’t let the difficult circumstances you are facing convince you that God has forgotten you. Don’t ever assume that God is more concerned with the needs of other, more significant, more spiritual people than He is with yours. Scripture teaches that God looks upon you with the same love, interest, and concern as a nursing mother would look upon her infant. It should reassure you to know that your Father loves you like that! 

Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day 

I would be lying if some days didn't feel like I was forgotten by my Savior. 

Prayers a plenty, and awaiting His response often can feel like we weren't heard.  That God was busy elsewhere.  It could never be that He's asleep anywhere because Scripture is clear that He doesn't. The next inevitable thought is looking at ourselves for reasons why. 

Dear Reader, God's timing is always perfect. He's in a need to run for one thing. When someone returns to Him. Yes, He constantly watches the horizon for any wayward child that is returning to Him.  Satan would love for you to believe that you are ignored or abandoned. 

He will try to induce those negative feelings.  Daniel prayed 3 times a day.  All the time. Scripture says that was his habit.  He observed that a fulfillment of Scripture should have happened. Was praying about that. Was told when the Angel showed up that the response to his prayers was issued immediately. The battle through which the Angel had to go through to get to him was fierce. A delay isn't necessarily a no.

There's been times, been days, weeks and months that it seems time drags on and God hadn't answered my prayers.  I continue to pray anyway.  I have joked that I am tired of being in the wilderness for the last 20 years where we live now.  

But God's had His reasons for those 20 years.  The Children of Israel were in the wilderness for a total of 80 years.  In my life, in these 20 plus years, He's done much to change me, to grow me in Christ.   The things that I have endured, gone through, lived through, had to happen here. Growing up in the culture that I did, accumulation of things and wrong thinking was the norm.   I look back and can see where God's needed to teach me the necessity of letting go.

My time and attention 20 years ago wasn't on or where it's at today. 

My priorities were not what they are today. 

My need for acceptance by people is far less today than 20 years ago. 

My need to be placing more of my life in serving my Savior is greater now than back then. 

My understanding of things has changed in 20 years. God's opened my mind to things I have never considered before. 

In 20 years I have learned to grow more dependent upon prayer.  To look forward to the drive to work when I talk with Jesus.  Work is seen by me differently than it has been in the past. I really don't trust me to make wise decisions at work.  I pray for His help in guarding my mind and my mouth before going in the door. I don't work for anyone but my God.  It's His standard that I must shoot for.  Whatever it is that He has me do.  

Oh, in my past, Satan used to really do a number on me.  He used to use all kinds of thoughts and feelings to put me down and keep me there.  Used to say things with a grain of truth that were twisted into elaborate falsehoods.  After years of hearing it I began believing it. Things by him were presented to me much as you read in the Gospels of his tempting Jesus. Some of those thoughts still plague me but as the days go by its less and less.  If this sounds like you, trust me, my Friend, you are not alone.  Satan doesn't want anyone to join the ranks of the Redeemed.  That's his first choice. If his wiles don't work to stop someone from salvation, his next is to get permission to go after them to hinder their growth in Christ. To make them ineffective in locating any others looking for salvation. Read the book of Job. Satan's needing permission to go after believers.  He doesn't need that with unbelievers. 

But why would Jesus give him permission?  Read again that passage where He says that God causes all things to work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose.  We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them.  Hammers, chisels, grinders, knives, etc. are actually tools that move or remove things in a violent manner.  Force is required that is often intense but necessary for what is desired.  God will permit things to achieve whatever is necessary to grow someone in Christ Jesus. He prayed for Peter, knowing that Satan asked to sift him as wheat.  He allowed it because it would be necessary for Peter's growth in Christ later.  Jesus didn't forget him at all. Peter easily could have thought that. Peter was downcast in the days after he failed in regards to denying Jesus.  After Jesus appeared to him and restored him, he would never make that mistake again. He grew in Christ. 

You may think that God's not going to listen to your prayers.  God always listens. What you pray about is in need of being what He's wanting of you.  If we pray in accordance with His Will He easily answers.  But remember back to Daniel.  Our Adversary is going to try to hinder that response.  God always answers with yes, no, not right now, and wait, I have something better in mind. 

You must never give in to thinking you have been forgotten. As the song goes, when He was on the cross we were on His mind.  Jesus was thinking of you, of me, of every human who has lived or ever will live when He was nailed to that cross.  He could never forget the nails, can never forget you.

You may not have the words to pray. That's OK. Just pray anyway. Jesus will be there.

And They Thought...

And They Thought...

For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:2-11 NASB

Within these words are contained the true confession of mankind,  of the creation acknowledging their Creator.   There has been appointed a day when all these will willingly and unwillingly admit the truth as stated by God. 

The only place where doubts exist as to this truth are in the minds of physical mankind today. 

There are no doubts in the minds of the dead.  You have those who are saved in Christ Jesus in Heaven, always proclaiming the truth of Christ Jesus around His Throne. 

In Hell there's all who now confess but under duress. Not from the pain of paying for their sins, but from the acknowledgement of their reality. Trillions are weeping because they fully realize they blew it. They missed their chances because they loved the world more than they wanted to love the one who came to save them.  They weep with no end in sight as to paying the price He offered to pay for their sins. They weep because the truth is no longer in doubt. 

There's no defense to stand up for them. There's no one to plead with that will listen. There's no jailer to cry out to.  They are there at the decree of God. Held there by the Word of God. 

Then you have those gnashing their teeth at their forced confession.  Acknowledging what is against their will.  They rage against God from their position with anger that will burn for all eternity.  Yet they too cannot change their situation. They have nothing to stand on.  They, like Satan, do not want to acknowledge the truth of God. They too have no jailer keeping them other than the decree of God.  In both their cases its simply the truth of God keeping them there.  What people today don't realize is that Demons are real. Demons too obey the decrees of God.  Demons know how terrifyingly real Hell is and they want no part of it. They would rather die a thousand physical deaths in possessed people or animals than spend one day in Hell. 

Yet in our world,  regardless of what people acknowledge, they are showing the truth of God’s Word.  Everyone doing right in their own eyes. Everyone having the choice of Salvation before them yet either choosing to receive it or reject it.  Everyone believing or refusing to believe the reality of God’s plan for mankind.  Those that refuse to believe now, have only until Christ returns to change their minds.  They can blame no one else but themselves in Hell but themselves.  The rejection of Christ for salvation is the only unpardoned sin.  Many millions of so-called great people of this world. Great philosophers, great scientists, massively rich people of the world, people living lives of the powerful, who died without salvation in Christ Jesus woke up in Hell, stripped of everything but their soul.  Woke up either crying out to Christ for a second chance or crying out in rage because they still believe they had the right to be right in their own eyes. 

I see so many people living life with no regard to the future. 

Of all things, that scene from Back to the Future 2, where Marty learns the harsh truth of how his relative with the same name died. Learning that his way wasn't going to work if he too let people goad him into fighting their fight their way.  Letting rage and anger remove all reason and then lose the fight. 

God’s not delaying the return of Jesus for any reason other than not being willing that any should perish but that all people would be saved. He knows there's still going to be people who reject Jesus by the millions per day.  But the Father knows who is the last before Jesus is told that now is the time.  I believe in what I call the  bookend theory.  The first to be saved was the thief on the cross.  No chance at baptism. No chance at a life of ministry or service to God.  No chance to witness to others. No chance to live a life dedicated to Christ that would draw people to Jesus to be saved themselves. That last person to be saved prior to the judgment of God will be the same.  Once that person says yes, that will be it. The Rapture will take place.  Billions will vanish.  Sadly way too many professing Christians don't grasp this or believe it.  Satan knows its true. Satan is preparing for it. It's those he has deceived that don't and are not. Billions of people are living life as it was in the days of Noah. Corporations are using intentional work practices of redundancy with the belief in sustainability due to turnover rates. No its to do with Satan's strategy to mitigate the inevitable disaster that will come upon the world at the Rapture. So that when Christians are gone he can pick things up quickly and not miss a beat.  Quickly downplaying the missing people. Spreading lies and falsehoods as to where they went. Probably blaming their disappearances upon something like side effects to some medication. Had to word that that way to avoid censorship. May sound far fetched but then again nobody saw 2020 and all that they endured happening either.  It was a test run for what's to come.  How willingly people will obey the order he has been crafting over the centuries.  When the Rapture occurs people will willingly do and accept what he will say through the Antichrist with the help of the false Prophet. They are now destroying symbols of truth and history, teaching others to reject history so that he can repeat it in a more refined way in the future. 

You, my Dear Reader, must realize the truth of God now, while there's still time. Christians need to be serious about being about the Father's business. Worldly possessions and status will not save anyone. Those still in doubt need to know that the source of their doubts is the sin they need forgiveness for.  They need a Savior who is Christ the Lord. There's good reason that this world is full of distraction. Misdirection is at the core of a magicians work. The real reason being to occupy your time long enough to deceive you into believing something that isn't true.

Today could be that day.  Are you ready for it?

A Cheerful Giver

A Cheerful Giver

Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. MATTHEW 19:17 

A person who is a good person is an individual of lofty ideals, noble purposes, strong character, reliable conduct, and trustworthy integrity. The only one who truly embodies all of those characteristics is Jesus Christ. We come to understand the word goodness as we see it alongside the word righteousness. Someone has said that justice is what God gives to us that we deserve. Goodness goes beyond that and is that which God gives us beyond what we deserve. The great characteristic of goodness as it is found in relationship with righteousness is generosity. It is what a person gets that isn’t deserved. It is what God gives to a person that could never be earned. Goodness in its relationship to righteousness teaches us about generosity. You don’t have to be rich to be generous. But what do you do with what you have? We need to take a good, long look at our lives and ask God how our attitudes have been to the needs around us. If we’ve been protective and closefisted, we need to say, “God, by the grace You will give me, I will change.” Begin to bear fruit in your life, the fruit of a generous spirit.

Dr. David Jeremiah Morning and Evening 

I have used the illustration before of a girl in front of Jesus holding something precious to her and Jesus is asking her to give it to Him. Behind Him is something much better if only she would let go an trust Him. 

I have seen examples of the line from the devotional too of people whom are closefisted and protective of what God has given them. Reminds me of the rich man laying on his bed pondering how he will be expanding his storage for more fortunes and does not realize his very life would be required of him that night. 

I then go to the Scriptures where it is plainly said that God loves a cheerful giver.  

We don't necessarily NEED the best of things. But Satan will certainly convince us we do.

We don't necessarily NEED to have the biggest house with the most going for it. 

We don't necessarily NEED a flashy new vehicle for all the world to see.

We don't need collections of stuff that amount to a waste of time, energy and money. 

This nation has a thriving business of storage spaces.  Places to put stuff that we forget we even know what it is. We waste what God has given us on ourselves. 

Some are even taken in by some misguided notion of preparation for what might be. Is there something that God Himself can't see coming? Has God at any point exclaimed "Wow! Where did THAT come from!?!"

The other day God had me write concerning how many professing Christians have never even tasted Spiritual warfare.  Why? They are already under lock n key by the seductive work of the enemy of God and don't even see it!

He has them living a selfish life in such a way that they don't even see the chains. 

They are locked up under house arrest. Can come n go as they please because they are no threat to his plans and schemes. 

Giving is more than material things. It's giving of self. In most of my Christian life I have heard dozens of sermons on giving.  Have heard of what it says in Malachi many times.  Of how men, living that selfish life, end up with purses full of holes because of neglecting God. 

As I was reading on Spiritual Warfare yesterday, people have this idea of doing what THEY want when THEY want and give God the leftovers. Maybe attending but never intending on serving.  It's what we read in the Gospels of giving lip service to God. They honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me. 

It's OK to be wise with your money, but remember it's not your money. 

It's OK to be wise with your possessions, but remember it's not your possessions. 

In downsizing I have come to be ashamed of my past purchasing behavior. 

Included in that is my procrastination, which caused greater financial problems. 

When I had so much stuff that I have no idea what I have or don't and end up rebuying what I already possess but lost in the heap. 

Someone made mention of where was my logo merchandise. I'll just say that, that way. 

I don't want to intentionally point people to false ideas and false gods. I have work shirts for work with their logo. Most all my others are God themed or are blank.  As a Christian I don't want people to look at me and see me. Or see something that points to someone worthless in God's eyes. I want them to think about Jesus if at all possible. 

I often get ribbing for all the above and beyond things that I do while at work.  "You're not getting paid for it!"  In the world's eyes, maybe not, I don't serve God part time. Colossians 3.

If you are going to live the Christian life giving is central to it. Not hoarding. 

Selfishness is one of the most denied attributes of most people. Christian or not.

The painful decision of that child before Jesus? To give Him her prized possession? Been there, done that. Many times. 

I don't need to prepare for what God intends to do. It's God's plan, God has what is needed worked out. Scripture says that there is no one who can thwart the plans of God.  Who will tell Him, "What are you doing?"

Look at your heart, look at your life. Are you being closefisted with God?

Are you honest with yourself about your selfishness?  Convinced of your need for luxury?

Are your homes more or less temples to idols?  If a home is decorated in anything but Christ, then you might want to look at your heart. Have more stuff than you know about or know what to do with? You might indeed be under spiritual house arrest and not even know it.

To Give of You

To Give of You 

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 PETER 4:10 

Ut

Ministry and service are from the same Greek word and mean essentially the same thing. There is no ministry apart from service. No one can have an impact in ministry who is not also willing to serve or to be a servant. There is always a price tag attached to service. It might be health; it might be convenience; it might be aggravation; it might be humility. Whatever the cost, it is what adorns the neck of those who minister. Ministry in the church is like being a parent. The most successful parents are those who learn to sacrifice for their children. And while we parents think our children are never going to realize what we have sacrificed in service to them, they eventually do. And what we have sacrificed for them comes back to us as the fruit of a close and intimate relationship with them. And it’s the same way in ministry in the church. The more we give of ourselves in ministry to others, the more we will get back in return. I heard the speaker John Maxwell say once, “If you are going to go up, you have to give up.” There is no way to advance in ministry without giving of ourselves.

Dr. David Jeremiah Morning and Evening 

Dreams for your future are probably good to have but care must taken as to what direction it goes. 

Me? Oh yes I have had dreams of this life and what I was wanting out of it. Had my own ideas of what would make me happy and where that would be. Growing up, for me, it was the space program. It was NASA. I was also heavily into science fiction. Lots of science fiction went into science fact. You had to be a dreamer to create things they would need in the space program. 

It got my imagination going. I added writing to my dreams. Had a notion of writing a book. 

Honestly have began dozens.  Still have most all of them. 

This motivation was there to be an electronics technician, maybe even an engineer. After all Scotty was a Chief Engineer on a Starship in the world of Star Trek. 

See a dominant pattern going the wrong way yet? Where was God in all this?

In the 80's I was introduced to computers and the world seemed to open up for my dreams. But again God was but was not there yet.  I had been hearing of evangelism and after how hard my start was with life after coming to Christ, I was going to reach people for Christ online!  Again, my ideas, not God's.  It was a disaster in a very short period of time. 

I kept struggling with my dreams. Kept failing at my attempts at living them out. 

It wasn't until some rough times in my life that I finally stopped looking at what I wanted and asked Jesus what He wanted that life began having meaning. My dreams still existed, just were not going to take the direction that I thought. 

It wasn't until I gave up, became a quitter on my wishes, and followed Isaiah's words of "Here am I send Me!"  God began fulfilling some parts of my dreams but not others. They weren't necessary for reaching people for Christ.  

My dreams of the space program...I have helped build things on the International Space Station. Built parts for all the Space Shuttles. Even on ships that went to Mars.

My Dreams of reaching people for Christ online and writing were merged. God told me years ago that He would give me things to write and it was upon me to obey and write. He would take those words places no book ever could go. Which He certainly has done. This blog came out of that. 

My first response to life over 40 years ago was not the right one when God wasn't in the plans.

We have a limited amount of time before Christ returns. We who are in Christ have a role in the plans of God to reach people. When the last person to be saved is saved in this Church age, the Rapture of the Church will happen. Millions will vanish. Trillions of dollars in global damage will happen. Millions will die as a side result of the Rapture.  Our dreams must start with God's plan to reach people. Jesus had said He was sent to seek and save the lost. The Great Commission is the same message.  It's not about living a life about what we can get out of life to make ourselves happy. It's about denying myself and taking up my cross and following in Christ's footsteps. 

How about you? Are you only living your life your way? Is there no sense of the urgency of the hour that Jesus is returning? Is there only your own selfish desires at play?

It's time to get real about life and what really matters. Declutter your life and start looking for that last person who needs Christ's free gift of Salvation. For what will it profit a man to gain the whole world and yet lose his soul? Satan wants us to be selfish about life in all kinds of subtle ways. From big to small.  There's all kinds of flashy signs on this road of life and he owns them all. He is doing whatever he's been permitted to do to ruin lives and distract people from being saved. Trying to delay the inevitable last person who is to be saved in this age.